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Discussion
Roland Pawlitschko conducted the interview in Wiel Arets’ office in Amsterdam.
1, 2 A cademy of Fine Arts and Design, Maastricht,1993 Interior/perspectival design sketch 3, 4 Allianz Suisse Headquarters, Wallisellen 2014 5 University Library Utrecht, 2004
ence between facades of residential buildings and office buildings? Wiel Arets: No. That is apparent in classical architecture. Until a few hundred years ago, buildings always also served as housing – and that is precisely how they look. Later different categories were created for different functions. At its core, however, that does not correspond to human nature. That is why I consider it wrong when an important aspect of life – work – leads to mono-functional urban sectors. DETAIL: Regarding functional structure and design, what must a state-of-the-art facade be capable of? Wiel Arets: Filtering light is probably one of a building envelope’s most important tasks. The flow of light and heat through the envelope must be controllable. In this context, glass has great potential – and this potential is far from being exhausted. For example, in the future, facades equipped with new technology will be able to communicate even more profoundly with interior spaces and with the city space. In this way completely new types of adjacencies can be brought about. But another important aspect is also the interaction with the building’s interior. That is why we worked for two years with the manufacturers to develop a suspended ceiling that also serves as interior facade (ill. 4). The micro-perforated ceiling, which supplies fresh air and extracts exhaust air, performs not only an acoustic task, but, in combination with the closed-cavity facade (CCF), also controls the room climate. DETAIL: How does the development process for such specialised facade and ceiling elements – which are not only functional but also highly aesthetic – work? Wiel Arets: We didn’t divide up the work and separately develop a facade and a suspended ceiling. Instead the two were treated in parallel. And we worked with firms whose specialists understood that it’s not a matter limited to each separate trade, but a common effort in which the result will have 5 considerable impact on how the building
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